Tourist take photos of an old growth tree in the Avatar Grove, near Port Renfrew, B.C., July 18, 2011. (John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail)(JOHN LEHMANN/The Globe and Mail)

T.J. Watt with the Ancient Forest Alliance, takes a photo of old growth tree in the Avatar Grove, near Port Renfrew, B.C., July 18, 2011.(JOHN LEHMANN/The Globe and Mail)

Ken Wu with the Ancient Forest Alliance, climbs up onto a 14 foot wide tree stump of old growth tree that was cut down, near Port Renfrew, B.C., July 18, 2011. Story details: When two forest activists were rooting around for ancient trees along southwest Vancouver Island's logging roads in December, the pair made an unexpected discovery. Just a five-minute walk from the road, centuries-old hemlocks, red cedars, firs and an identified evergreen that's been dubbed Canada's "gnarliest tree," stood untouched in a 10-hectare setting, about a 15-minute drive from the village of Port Renfrew. Stunned that the area hadn't been logged, within a few weeks Mr. Wu, along with other environmentalists, founded the Victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance, today numbering 8,000 members. Soon after, Avatar Grove was born. The Grove has rapidly become the AFA's "poster child" for old-growth preservation, said AFA campaigner Brendan Harry. Choosing the name Avatar Grove was a deliberate move to engage the masses that had seen Avatar, one of the most-viewed movies in history.(JOHN LEHMANN/The Globe and Mail)

T.J. Watt with the Ancient Forest Alliance, takes a photo of old growth tree in the Avatar Grove, near Port Renfrew, B.C., July 18, 2011.(JOHN LEHMANN/The Globe and Mail)

Joan Varley of the Wilderness Committee looks up at a cedar tree at Avatar Grove at Gordon Main in Port Renfrew, B.C. August 29, 2010. story by Brennan Clarke(ARNOLD LIM For The Globe and Mail)

Joan Varley of the Wilderness Committee looks up at a hemlock tree at Avatar Grove along the Gordon River, B.C. August 29, 2010.(ARNOLD LIM For The Globe and Mail)

A Douglas fir tree at Avatar Grove along the Gordon River Valley, B.C. August 29, 2010.(ARNOLD LIM For The Globe and Mail)

Twelve-year-old T.J. Cordoviz looks up at a Douglas fir tree at Avatar Grove along the Gordon River Valley, B.C. August 29, 2010.(ARNOLD LIM For The Globe and Mail)

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